When a wagon train of 437 Mormon settlers from Utah, exhausted from their arduous journey across the arid Mojave Desert and through the twisting Cajon Pass, arrived at Sycamore Grove, the group included 26 slaves – the first black pioneers of the San Bernardino Valley.

Among them were Grief and Toby Embers.

According to an interview in 1999 with Herbert Rona, Toby Embers’ great-great grandson, the brothers had been freed upon arrival in California, which was voted into the Union as a free state a year earlier, but they opted to remain with Bishop William Crosby.

In addition to the Embers brothers, Crosby kept three other slaves, including Grief’s wife, Harriet. What little is known of Toby Embers concerns his immediate family.

Toby’s wife, Hannah, who had been the “property” of Robert Smith before her freedom, was an expert horse rider who became the unofficial midwife of the new settlement, answering any call to help deliver a newborn baby, day or night. Toby’s daughter, Martha, married an ex-slave named Israel Beal, who became an important part of the valley’s early history.

In fact, the Beals became the first black residents in the Redlands area when the community was still known as Lugonia.

Of the two siblings, much more is known about Toby’s younger brother. Born in either 1812 or 1813 in Indiana, he went by the name of Grief. However, the man was anything but a sad person. In fact, he was such a well-liked, good-natured soul that his many friends affectionately referred to him as “Uncle Grief.”

Shortly after the Mormons’ arrival, word hit San Bernardino of an Indian uprising spearheaded by the much-feared Antonio Garra, an independent chief of a large band of renegade Indians who were camped at Warner’s Ranch.

It was rumored that Garra planned to unite all tribes from the Colorado River to the Tulares in the San Joaquin Valley and then wipe out every American living between San Diego and Santa Barbara.

Under the leadership of Capt. Jefferson Hunt, a fort was built near the present-day San Bernardino County Courthouse and a militia was organized inside its walls.

During this turbulent time, Grief Embers was well-known for his 6-foot-long tin horn that he blew to call the men to assembly in preparation for the anticipated attack. Grief learned special codes that he played for different occasions that all the pioneers recognized. The men understood what the codes meant, and it was his responsibility to assemble the people.

Fortunately, the threatened battle never did reach San Bernardino.

In later years, as “town bugler,” Grief blew his horn to signal the start of town meetings. And on holidays such as the Fourth of July, he would entertain everyone with his “Bishop’s Horn” – nicknamed in honor of his close association with Bishop Crosby. When Mormon President Brigham Young ordered his “faithful followers” back to Salt Lake in 1857, Grief Embers’ life turned in a new direction.

As roughly 60percent of the Mormon community answered Young’s urgent recall and sold their homes and property for whatever they could get, Grief and fellow black settlers took advantage of the bargain land prices in San Bernardino and soon became property owners for the first time. In fact, Grief became the earliest recorded black owner of real estate in the Inland Empire.

Working as a farmer and day laborer, Grief and his wife, Harriet, raised their three daughters in San Bernardino. They owned some land at what is now I Street just south of Mill Street, as well as in the vicinity of the Carousel Mall. By 1870, his assets included $1,000 in real estate and $100 in personal property.

Byron R. Skinner, author of “Black Origins in the Inland Empire,” emphasized Grief’s popularity in the community. In an era that frowned on black men holding public office, he ran for coroner of San Bernardino in 1871 against J. Barnhart and A.R. Smith.

Barnhart won the contest while Grief came in second. But the fact that Grief came in second is a tribute to the respect he had earned in the town.

When Grief Embers died at the age of 61 on Oct. 10, 1873, his obituary, which appeared in the San Bernardino Guardian, included the following commentary:

“Grief Embers, a well-known colored man, died suddenly about noon yesterday, from the bursting of a blood vessel. He died respected by all who knew him.”

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